It was now Saturday evening, and her thirtieth birthday was forgotten.She told herself to let it go.And then she amused herself by wondering if her birthday was forgotten, did that mean she could skip that birthday altogether and remain twenty-nine?
The thought made her smile.If only life were that simple.
“The back is all cleaned up,” Mia said.“Do you need help out here?”
Abby shook her head.“I’m almost done.Go enjoy your evening.”
“Thanks.I’ll see you on Monday.”
Sunday was the only day the coffeeshop was closed.When she’d originally opened the coffeeshop, she’d been planning to have it open seven days a week.But then her friends convinced her that everyone needed a break.She couldn’t afford to close for two days, so she picked Sunday as the one day that she didn’t have to worry about the coffeeshop.
After wiping off the last table, Abby grabbed the mop bucket from where it rested behind the counter.Mia had already mopped the kitchen area and behind the counter.That only left the seating area.With the chairs already resting on the tabletops, it wouldn’t take long to finish up.
She immediately got to work.She had a date at home with a romantic suspense book that had her constantly guessing who the villain was.Every time she settled on one suspect, she would learn a new clue that would change her mind and point her in a new direction.
With one last swish of the mop, she was done.She released a relieved sigh.
“Abby?”
The unexpected voice caused her to jump and slosh some of the mop bucket water.She spun around to find Sadie standing there.
Abby pressed a hand to her pounding chest.“You startled me.I must have been lost in my thoughts and not heard the door open.What are you doing here?”
“I wanted to see if you wanted to grab a late dinner.”
Thoughts of reading drifted to the back of her mind.She glanced down at the spilled water.She quickly mopped it up.“That sounds like a good idea.”
“Great.”Sadie smiled.“Are you ready to go?”
“Almost.”She glanced around.“Isn’t Reed joining us?”
“He was busy.”She pulled out her phone and looked at it before returning it to her coat pocket.“He said he’d catch up with us later.”
Abby wondered what had Reed so busy.Usually Sadie and Reed were attached at the hip.But it would be nice to spend some alone time with her friend.
Then she had a thought.“Should we call Carrie and Kate and see if they want to join us?”
Sadie shook her head as she once more pulled out her phone and looked at it.She quickly typed something before looking up.“I already talked to them, and they’re busy.So, it’s just you and me.”
Was it just her or did Sadie’s words seem a little rushed?And what was the deal with her phone?Sadie wasn’t normally so distracted.
Maybe whatever was distracting her was the reason she wanted to go to dinner.Maybe it was something she didn’t want to discuss in front of Reed.Maybe it was about Reed.Was that why he wasn’t with her?
Abby looked directly at her friend.“Is everything all right?You aren’t having wedding jitters again, are you?”
Sadie shook her head.“No.You really helped me the last time.I went home and talked to Reed.He let me know that he didn’t have any reservations about moving to Bayberry.In fact, he said we should start house hunting.”
“House hunting?Wow.”She supposed it made sense, since they were to be married in two and a half months.“That’s exciting.”
Sadie nodded.“We have an appointment on Monday with a real estate agent to view a few places.”
So now Abby understood.Sadie wanted to talk about the next major step in her life—buying her first house.This was exciting.
Abby excused herself to go take care of the mop and bucket.A few minutes later, she emerged from the back with her coat on.
After locking up, Sadie insisted Abby leave her car and ride with her.Abby didn’t understand, since Sadie was going to have to backtrack to drop her off at her car, but she didn’t argue.
After she put on her seatbelt, she said, “We didn’t even discuss where we’re going to eat.”
